Representatives from developing countries were invited to test these new donor policies against requirements in Asia and Africa such as market access, reduced trade costs and agricultural productivity and rural development.

How can farmers be effectively connected to markets?

What should donors do to assist in reducing trade costs and trade barriers by smart upfront investments in line with rural development policies?

What do farmers associations and the private sector (SME and lead companies) expect from the new trends and directions of donor agencies on the trade and development agenda for Post-2015?

Are the opportunities offered by the international trade system real opportunities for end users? Is there a real perspective for regional trade?

The EU and its member States' commitments of Aid for Trade exceeded EUR 11 billion in both 2012 and 2013. The EU Aid for Trade Strategy was adopted in 2007 and its main quantitative targets have long been met. Moreover, as the outcomes of processes such as the Post-2015 Development Agenda will need to be taken on board, the time is ripe to start reflecting on a revision of the EU AfT Strategy to adapt to new challenges. This side event was meant to initiate stakeholder consultation seeking to identify new priority issues, draw lessons from the latest research and studies, present the view of beneficiaries and ultimately provide some building blocks upon which to launch the review.

The AfT recipient perspective: how to increase the access/impact of AfT in LDCs?; Stephen N. Karingi, Director, Regional Integration and Trade Division, UNECA

How AfT and trade agreements – bilateral/regional/multilateral – can support
each other ; Sanoussi Bilal, Senior Executive/Head of Programme, Economic
Transformation and Trade, European Centre for Development Policy
Management - ECDPM

The aim of this dialogue was to provide policy makers and other stakeholders from the East Africa Community (EAC) an opportunity to explore how global trade rules and national policies affecting agricultural markets could best promote food security and support rural development, in the run-up to the WTO's tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi and beyond.

With WTO members currently negotiating a work programme on the remaining Doha issues ahead of a July 2015 deadline, this dialogue will therefore constitute a unique opportunity for EAC Geneva-based negotiators and national and regional constituencies to review priorities and negotiating strategies in advance of the upcoming ministerial conference.

Extract of the programme:

Making food available and accessible to poor consumers: the role of international trade rules and national policies

Gerald Makau Masila, ‎Executive Director, Eastern Africa Grain Council: Evolving trends in the use of agricultural exports restrictions and possible options to regulate them (see video at 2:45 - unfortunately the sound is still to be fixed by ICTSD)

Jonathan Hepburn, Agriculture Programme Manager, ICTSD : Policy options available and scenarios for a “permanent solution” on public stockholding for food security at the WTO

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Purpose

The Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development (Phase II) is to build joint African-European multi-stakeholder partnerships in agricultural research for development. PAEPARD II nurtures partnerships to increase the quantity and quality of joint proposals (leading to more funded initiatives).

PAEPARD II not only focuses on FP7, but includes other European Commission (EDF, EC Budget through the FSTP) and bilateral funding instruments supporting ARD that might be mobilized for emerging ARD partnerships.